I have a process where I don't do a double-starter for a lager. I'll do a 1-liter starter (with oxygen and yeast nutrient), then pitch the entire thing at about 14 hours into the fermenter at about 68 degrees. I'll let it sit at that temp for about 5 hours, then drop it down to 50 degrees to continue fermentation.
Essentially, I'm giving that starter time to increase at room temp before it drops to 50. Typically I'll have signs of fermentation (bubbling and krausen formation) as soon as 5 hours after pitch. It works, works well, and I like it.
HOWEVER. A friend of mine helped with brew day yesterday and he brewed my Darth Lager. He was going to follow my recipe and process--except at the end, he didn't.
We finished the brew day at 5:30pm. At that point, we oxygenated the wort, and he took his fermenter home to ferment in his own ferm chamber. I instructed him to pitch the yeast immediately on getting home, so that it would be at about the same temp as the wort.
Well, it didn't happen that way. He pitched about 6pm, which was at that point about 19 hours after he began his starter. The wort was probably about 64 degrees (he's not sure, but that seems reasonable), the starter probably 70 or thereabouts. He didn't wait the 5 hours before dropping to 50 degrees, he set it at 9:30 to start dropping. (He'd been up since 4:00am and needed to crash).
This morning, no sign of anything. No bubbling, no krausen forming. With this method of doing a starter and pitching it warm and waiting a bit, I always get action within 8 hours. In fact, I did an Amber yesterday, same deal with a starter, and had action within 6 hours.
So--I must admit I have no idea what to advise him. It was his first starter, but he had a decent krausen on it. He said he followed my process of oxygenating and adding a bit of yeast nutrient to the starter wort.
I know the acronym (RDWHAHB) and while he'll likely get beer out of this, it seems to me to clearly be an underpitch. What do we do? Just wait it out? BTW, the yeast is WL940, Mexican Lager Yeast.
Thanks for any ideas.
Essentially, I'm giving that starter time to increase at room temp before it drops to 50. Typically I'll have signs of fermentation (bubbling and krausen formation) as soon as 5 hours after pitch. It works, works well, and I like it.
HOWEVER. A friend of mine helped with brew day yesterday and he brewed my Darth Lager. He was going to follow my recipe and process--except at the end, he didn't.
We finished the brew day at 5:30pm. At that point, we oxygenated the wort, and he took his fermenter home to ferment in his own ferm chamber. I instructed him to pitch the yeast immediately on getting home, so that it would be at about the same temp as the wort.
Well, it didn't happen that way. He pitched about 6pm, which was at that point about 19 hours after he began his starter. The wort was probably about 64 degrees (he's not sure, but that seems reasonable), the starter probably 70 or thereabouts. He didn't wait the 5 hours before dropping to 50 degrees, he set it at 9:30 to start dropping. (He'd been up since 4:00am and needed to crash).
This morning, no sign of anything. No bubbling, no krausen forming. With this method of doing a starter and pitching it warm and waiting a bit, I always get action within 8 hours. In fact, I did an Amber yesterday, same deal with a starter, and had action within 6 hours.
So--I must admit I have no idea what to advise him. It was his first starter, but he had a decent krausen on it. He said he followed my process of oxygenating and adding a bit of yeast nutrient to the starter wort.
I know the acronym (RDWHAHB) and while he'll likely get beer out of this, it seems to me to clearly be an underpitch. What do we do? Just wait it out? BTW, the yeast is WL940, Mexican Lager Yeast.
Thanks for any ideas.